The shopping centre is packed, typical of a Saturday morning. Even though there are couples everywhere, I can’t help but feel a little self-conscious.

Nothing eventful’s happened in the past few days. I’m a bit relieved and bored by this recent turn of events – none of my patrols have yielded anything, and Shizuka’s received no reports about demon threats. It was pretty much just an ordinary school week, albeit one filled with growing apprehension regarding this ‘date’.

“Come on, Bran! Let’s go, let’s go!”

The thing is, Ashley didn’t come here to shop. Dragging my hand and pulling me through the mall, we’re one of the first to reach the ice rink as the previous session ends. Seeing her like this puts me at ease though. It looks like she truly has recovered from her slump.

“You should have worn a jacket,” she says to me. “It’s pretty cold, unless you skate a lot.”

“I would’ve,” I begin. “But I lost it.”

I almost said ‘but Alice lost it,’ which would have been bad. Most of the people are wrapped up in winter wear, and I’m one of the only ones only wearing a single layer. Maybe I should pretend to be a little cold, just to try and fit in.

Ashley is the first to step onto the ice, adapting to the rental skates in a matter of seconds. She’s already moving smoothly around, skating as if it’s second nature to her. I can’t help but be a little nervous in anticipation of when it’s my turn.

I’ve actually never skated before in my life.

Just as I think this, a whiff of something pleasant passes me. Turning my head instinctively, I realize that it’s a family of two parents and their small child. They must have O type blood, or I wouldn’t have reacted as strongly.

I sure am glad I filled up on Alice’s animal blood yesterday.

“Come on, Bran!” Ashely urges. “Don’t just sit there, you have to skate with me! This is a date, you got it? D – A – T-“

“Yeah yeah,” I say, cutting her off. I don’t want her drawing any more attention than she already is.

Putting on the skates and strapping them on firmly, I take one step onto the ice… and my foot immediately comes out from under me. A sharp pain hits my behind as I slip backwards.

Ashley giggles. “You suck! Don’t tell me you’ve never skated before?”

“H-Hey, it’s not that uncommon is it?”

She extends a hand which I grab onto and pulls me up. I immediately hug the barrier at the edge of the rink to prevent another fall.

“I guess I’ll have to be the man this time,” she sighs. “Usually the guy is meant to teach the girl, not the other way around.”

She snatches my hand and slowly moves forward, keeping me in tow. I focus on maintaining my balance, but quickly realize how much harder it is than it looks.

“I give up,” I say. “This is too hard.”

“You’re pathetic,” Ashely shakes her head. “Look at that little boy. He’s learning faster than you are.”

She points to an infant in the distance, skimming over the ice as if he weighs nothing. My morale immediately plummets even lower.

“Maybe you should go do a bit of your own skating for a while,” I say. “It must be pretty frustrating for you to teach amateurs like me.”

Ashley sighs. “You’re right. If you still can’t last ten seconds without falling over we’re going to do this every week until you can.”

…I’m not sure how to feel at this.

As she disappears off into the distance, I propel myself forward a tiny bit. Wobbling unsteadily, I quickly return to the solace of the barrier before I lose control.

“This is ridiculous,” I mutter. “If only I could just run normally without these things… I’m sure I’d be faster too.”

A group of kids skate past casually as if it were the simplest thing in the world. One of them is even moving backwards.

Alright, that does it.

I push off from the wall, gradually building up speed. Using every inch of my focus, I manoeuvre my body to maintain a low centre of gravity. The cool air blows against me as I gradually pick up speed, one firm stroke at a time.

Maybe this isn’t so bad after all-

Just as I think this, I realize there’s a problem – the other end of the barrier is coming up at a dangerously fast speed, and I don’t know how to brake or turn.

And then I collide with a huge bang, drawing the attention of everyone in the rink. Pain streaks through my body like a lightning bolt and I go tumbling onto the ground. As the throbbing in my body slowly subsides, a few faces pop in above my vision.

“You alright there?”

“I’m fine,” I yelp, my face turning red. I pull myself up and reassure the people around me, who reluctantly leave. I think I’m going to take it slowly from now on.

“Crikey! Who woulda thought you’d be here of all places!”

A heavy hand slaps me on the back, knocking the wind out of my already battered ribcage. I turn to the direction of the gruff voice and see a familiar face.

“Baz?”

A huge figure looms over me. His form-fitting shirt barely holds back his rippling muscles, and he has a childish grin plastered over his face. We used to call him Ginger because of his shaggy red mane back at ANGEL, but after he shaved it to a buzz cut we started calling him Bazza. Now I just call him Baz because it’s one syllable less.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

“Mate, you do realize this place is close to the Fourteenth District, don’t you?”

Hmm… now that he mentions it, he’s got a point. There’s a bit of overlap between Districts Fourteen and Fifteen, and it’s not uncommon to find fellow demon hunters from neighbouring areas at the place.

Bazza wraps his arm around my shoulder and grinds my head with the knuckles of his other hand. I push him away before I get crushed to a pulp.

“So what are you doing here?” I ask.

“Oh, ya know. I was just helpin’ my brother Byron ice skate; there’s a chick in his class he’s got his eye on.”

He points behind him to where a younger, smaller and less ripped version of himself is skating – a little shakily, but still miles better than me. The boy grunts and salutes at me in the distance.

“Bran! Are you alright?” another voice cries out.

Someone stops beside me and grips both my shoulders before I can react. I find myself uncomfortably close to Ashley’s face.

“That sounded painful,” she frets.

She checks my shoulder and stomach tentatively, before bending down to probe my bruised knee.

“I – I’m fine,” I stammer. I see Bazza’s face slowly break into a sly grin.

“Ohoho, who’s this?” he smirks. “I always knew you were a fair bugger, but I never thought you were actually keen for women.”

What? Why does everyone think I’m gay!?

“She’s just a friend,” I quickly say.

“Really?”

“For now,” Ashley adds, throwing me a glare.

Baz quickly pulls me aside, almost yanking my arm off with his strength. Turning so Ashley can’t hear us, he frantically whispers into my ear.

“Bloody oath mate, she’s smokin’! Where do ya find these chicks? Help a bloke out!”

“Dude, I didn’t ask for any of this,” I shoot back.

I suddenly realize that the whole ice rink’s gone quiet, thrown into a buzz of hushed whispering. Pushing Baz away from me, we turn around to see what the source of the commotion is.

“Oh god no,” I whisper.

Three people have just stepped onto the ice rink and are skating smoothly and efficiently towards us. One of them is my sister, Judith. Another is Ashley’s brother, Leo.

And the third… gliding along like a professional figure skater is a certain blonde girl in a white summer frock. Over that is a familiar black jacket, one that was torn and bloodstained last time I saw it but is now patched up and stitched together neatly.

I curse to myself, causing disdainful glances from a nearby family.

Alice, Judith and Leo approach us casually, waving.

“What a coincidence,” Leo says. “Who would’ve thought we’d bump into each other here of all places?”

You bloody… coincidence my ass!

“What are you all doing here?” Ashley pouts. “I wanted some time alone with Bran, too…”

“My, my,” Judith muses. “You’re quite the womanizer aren’t you?”

Alice remains silent. Her frock is brand new – there are no signs of the damages from the previous battle, or at least none that I can see. She must have a whole wardrobe of them. The jacket on the other hand…

“Why are you wearing that?” I ask.

“Because it’s cold,” she snaps.

I thought vampires weren’t supposed to feel the cold?

As Judith, Alice and Ashley start off with their girl talk, I yank Leo aside. “What is the meaning of this?”

Leo shrugs. “Just need to make sure you don’t try anything creepy on my sister. As love-struck as she is.”

“What about them?” I gesture to Judith and Alice. “Did you really have to bring them? Mum’s going to roast my ass about this!”

Leo shrugs. “Believe it or not, they were already tailing you before I bumped into them. From there, following you became easy. Nice ice skating skills, by the way.”

I scowl at his smirk. “Well, now I know you’re following me, so what’s the point?”

Leo jerks his thumb to the side. “I got worried when I saw the big guy, just in case he was going to help you abduct her or something.”

I want to hit this guy, but forcefully restrain myself.

“When Ashley started getting all touchy feely with you after the fall, Judith and Alice both stepped on at once so I figured I’d come too.”

The sound of laughter redirects our heads. Both our gazes turn to where Baz is staring, mesmerized at the three girls as they become acquainted with each other at an unnervingly fast speed. You’d think they were lifelong friends from a glance.

“Oi, stop looking so hungrily at my sister,” I say, snapping my fingers in front of Bazza’s face.

He turns with a distant look on his face. “Fair dinkum… you’re one lucky bastard, ya know? Surrounded by all these lovely sheilas…”

He shakes himself as if waking up from a dream. “I have to do it while this image is fresh in my mind…”

“Do what?”

“I’ll be right back – needa use the shitter for an hour or two…”

Before he can skate away both Leo and I grasp on his shirt and pull, yanking him back.

“You’re not going anywhere,” we both say simultaneously.

Barry sighs, slowly getting to his feet. “Alright, alright… geez, don’t get your knickers in a knot.”

***

“Still feeling up for more?” I ask Ashley as we sit outside McDonalds, eating lunch. Our date for two somehow turned out to be a group outing.

Ashley turns her head. “Of course. I’m not going to let them ruin it for us.”

Everyone else casually looks away.

“Nothin’ like some Maccas after some hard yakka,” Barry says. “Eh, Byron?”

“Hard yakka my butt, you didn’t do anything except try to hit on girls,” his brother retorts.

“Hey, can’t blame a man for followin’ his instincts.”

Ashley and Judith were a bit hesitant at first, but in the end Bazza’s down to earth and honest personality won them over. If it’s one thing I admired about that guy, it’s his charisma. You can’t help but admire his straight-forwardness.

As the Samson brothers and Leo make idle conversation with Ashley and Judith, I lean over to Alice and speak in a soft tone. “Be careful around him. He’s from ANGEL.”

She wordlessly nods, and I notice her posture stiffen.

I suppose the day wasn’t that bad - it could have gone a lot worse. I think Ashley was originally intending to wander around for a bit and shop after lunch, but with more people than intended our plans will probably change.

It’s actually been so long since I’ve last just had an ordinary day out with friends just walking around, chatting, laughing, eating, hanging out in general. I’ve been so caught up in the other half of my life lately that I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be an ordinary high schooler. If we replaced Leo with Dennis, it would be perfect.

This isn’t bad at all, I think to myself.

“Bran, can I try some of your smoothie?”

Before I can answer, Ashley reaches out and grabs the cup from out of my hands.

“Oi, hold on a second,” I begin, but she’s already latched her lips around the straw. She looks incredibly happy at this small action.

Bazza, Leo and Judith watch with disgusted faces. “Just get a room already,” Bazza says.

Ashley shoots a victorious glance at Alice, who turns away. After what seems like a moment of consideration, Alice clumsily drops her half-eaten burger onto the floor.

“Oops.”

That didn’t sound convincing at all.

Eyeing my own half-eaten one, she looks at me expectantly. “Do you mind if I have some of yours? You look like you’re full already.”

“Hold on,” Ashley protests. “Bran’s a growing boy. You can take mine!”

“Yours has meat.”

“Tch…!”

I’m starting to get sick of this.

“Just take my stuff,” I growl, thrusting the remains of my meal in front of me. “I’ll go buy some more.”

Without waiting for a response, I excuse myself from the table and head back to the fast food restaurants. I’ve never really understood the concept of indirect kisses – it’s just sharing food and drink, there’s nothing more to it.

Just as I take my place at the back of a queue, watching Ashley steal most of my food from Alice, a blaring alarm begins to sound.

Surprised at first, it isn’t long before an announcement rings across the shopping centre and sends everyone into a state of unease.

“Attention, all shoppers. Attention, all shoppers. This is an emergency. Please evacuate the shopping centre in a calm and orderly fashion via your nearest exit. I repeat, please evacuate via your nearest exit. This is an emergency.”

All thoughts of food immediately leave my mind as I see people beginning to stand up and head off. They clearly don’t think too much of it, however I’ve already noticed a few security guards closing in around the edges of the food court.

This is real.

Hurrying back to our table, I gesture for everyone to get up.

“Let’s go guys,” I say. “We don’t want to stay around here when the crowds really start moving.”

“It’s probably just a drill,” Leo dismisses. “I mean, what are the chances-“

Just as those words leave his mouth, something breaks down the fire exit in the distance and leaps into view.

It’s a pale humanoid, dressed in tatters with long uncut nails and dirty blond hair. Even though I’ve only seen one of them before, I immediately know what it is – and I’m sure Alice does too.

A feral vampire.